


the house that built me

by acooper9716



Series: the house won't fall [2]
Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Bonus Content, Christmas Fluff, College, F/M, Gen, Home Renovation, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine's Day, aged up Pogues, this will include a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28162011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acooper9716/pseuds/acooper9716
Summary: A collection of bonus one shots and extended scenes from "the house won't fall" universe. Strongly suggest reading the house won't fall (when the bones are good) before reading for context.
Relationships: JJ & John B. Routledge, JJ & Pope & John B. Routledge, Sarah Cameron & JJ & Kiara & Pope & John B. Routledge, Sarah Cameron & Kiara, Sarah Cameron/John B. Routledge
Series: the house won't fall [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061516
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. Christmas Break

**Author's Note:**

> If you're following this fic from the house won't fall, I'm sorry to say that no, this first chapter isn't the bonus scene with chapter 11. That is still coming! If you're a first-time reader, hi! Go read the house won't fall (when the bones are good) before you read these because some things won't make sense. 
> 
> This little fic will be where my extra one shots and extended scenes will live because they would distract from the main plot of the main story. 
> 
> The first chapter takes place before the house won't fall (when the bones are good) begins; Sarah and Pope are home from their first semester of college for winter break. It's purely self-indulgent, fluffy, and I was in the holiday spirit. It was also inspired by a TikTok. Shoutout to OliviaRedfield for telling me to go for it and posting this first drabble.

Winter in the Outer Banks is weird, to say the least. Sometimes it actually feels like winter with temperatures in the mid forty’s while other days, the temperature reads sixty-plus degrees. 

Either way, now that finals are done and she’s home for a month, all Sarah can think about is spending Christmas break with the Pogues. 

Everyone is back home: JJ and John B never left Kildare; Pope returned from mainland North Carolina; Kie flew back from Florida after spending a month visiting the Florida Keys, and she was back where she belongs- snuggled up beside her boyfriend on his worn-out couch in the Chateau. 

She’s still mentally exhausted from her chemistry final late yesterday afternoon and it shows. While the rest of the Pogues are bundled up close together and watching Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf on the TV, she’s cuddled beside her boyfriend with her eyes closed as he plays with her hair. The soothing and repetitive movement pulls her closer to falling asleep. She’s cozy and content and surrounded by her best friends. 

“Can someone send the popcorn down to this end of the couch,” Pope asks John B pointedly, who is hogging the bucket beside him. 

“Yeah, sure man,” he responds, taking a handful of the snack and tossing pieces one by one into his friend’s mouth. Pope catches all but two, which land in Kie’s hair. He picks it out of the curl and tosses it into his mouth.

“Did you just pick that out of my hair?” The curly-haired Pogue sounds slightly disgusted. 

“Mhmm,” he answers before swallowing. “Yep. Not gonna waste any popcorn.” 

JJ turns his head towards John B. “Hey, hit me, man.” He opens his mouth wide and catches the popped kernels thrown into his mouth. 

Kie rolls her eyes at the boys’ antics from her spot next to Sarah. “Give me that,” she demands while reaching over the dirty blonde to take the bucket. She swats at John B’s hands that try to push her away while half-heartedly protecting Sarah and manages to pull the movie-theater sized bucket out from under his arm. 

She lets out a victory cry that quickly morphs into a disappointed grumble.

“You asshole! You ate most of the popcorn,” she groans after looking down to see mostly burnt or unpopped kernels inside. “Sarah, pause the movie. I’m making more so the rest of us can actually enjoy it without starving ourselves of snacks.” 

Kie stands up and starts walking toward the kitchen but Sarah doesn't answer her. She gently kicks her friend’s foot that hangs off the couch to nudge her awake. 

“Sarah?” She’s a little concerned that the dirty blonde hasn't answered her yet. 

“Hmm?” Sarah lifts her head and blinks sleepily at the others. 

“Can you pause the movie?” Kie repeats. 

“Oh, yeah. Sure,” she answers, pulling the remote out from the front pocket of her oversized blanket sweatshirt. She pauses the movie and returns her head to John B’s shoulder.

“JJ- come help,” Kiara orders over her shoulder from the kitchen. 

The blond sitting on the floor jumps to his feet and follows her, leaving John B, Sarah, and Pope in the living room. 

“Chem really kicked your ass, didn't it, Sarah,” Pope asks, slightly amused. 

The girl in question rolls over to face her fellow college-attending Pogue and glares. 

“Shut your fucking mouth, Pope. Just because you got a 4 on the AP Chem exam and it covered one of your program requirements doesn't mean you get to rub it in my face. I memorized so many chemical equations this week and I fried my brain for it,” she whines. 

John B laughs softly. “Alright, come ‘ere.” He rests a hand on her shoulder and pulls her back against his side. She doesn't put up a fight and tangled her legs with his. 

“Sorry,” he silently mouths to Pope, who waves it off with a smirk. 

“Sorry Pope,” she mumbles into John B’s shoulder and tosses an arm over his stomach. 

“Ehh, don't worry ‘bout it, Sar. Not everyone is as gifted in chemistry as I am,” he says sarcastically. 

The dirty blonde’s eyes open and she scoffs. She lifts the arm across her boyfriend’s stomach and flips him off. 

“How ‘bout we not flip off everyone who annoys you tonight, okay?” John B suggests gently. He grabs the hand waving the middle finger around and laces his fingers with it. 

Sarah hums a soft, “okay,” and closes her eyes when his other hand resumes running through her dark blonde hair, occasionally rubbing into her scalp. 

She presses herself even closer against the warmth radiating from John B. Even in the middle of December, he wears t-shirts and shorts around the house like it isn't forty degrees outside, but he is still so warm. The leader of the Pogues is like her personal space heater. 

The couch cushions shift beneath her when Pope vacates his seat to grab another drink from the fridge. She hears him ask John B if he wants another drink, which he declines. In the kitchen, Kie and JJ are arguing over whether the popcorn is done in the microwave or not and how much butter they should coat it with. 

Sarah releases a content sigh. Everything feels back to normal after the hell week that was finals. 

“You good?” John B whispers in her ear. His hand lightly runs up and down her back in a soothing gesture. 

“No.” She untangles her legs from his and crawls on top of him. Her arms slide under his back while her legs straddle him. 

“Okay, could you be any closer?” 

“I’m cold and I want cuddles, John B,” she whines. 

“Oh, you want cuddles? Come ‘ere!” He replies, pushing her off him and onto the couch. He stands up, grabs the closest blanket he can find, and jumps on top of her, crying out, “I’ll give you cuddles, Sarah!” 

Kie stops dumping the bag of popcorn into bowls and looks up just as John B bodyslams her best friend into the couch. The dirty blonde lets out a gleeful squeal as her arms and legs wrap around the boy smothering her with attention and affection. 

“Oh my God,” the curly-haired girl mutters while shaking her head in faux disbelief, but the small smile on her lips gives her away. She’s happy John B and Sarah are back together after several weeks apart. 

“Hey Sarah,” JJ calls out as he picks up two of the bowls of popcorn and returns to the living room. “Elf was your idea, but if you aren’t gonna watch it because Vlad can’t keep his hands to himself, can we watch Die Hard instead? That’s a Christmas movie.” He sets the bowl meant for John B to the side before sprawling out on the rug in front of the couch. 

Pope and Kie look at each other, glance at Sarah, who stopped fighting against her boyfriend’s affection, and lifted her head before they look at JJ. In unison, they cry out, “No!”


	2. the best kind of surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John B and Wheezie spend some time bonding when he brings up something important to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the bonus content I've been teasing y'all about for chapter 11! The first part takes place during chapter 9 while the second part occurs sometime between chapters 9 and 11. 
> 
> IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 11 YET, STOP NOW. GO READ IT. THEN COME BACK. SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.

_**I’m picking you up after school. Need to talk to you about something.** _

Wheezie’s brows scrunch together after reading and rereading John B’s vague text. She’s sitting at a picnic table and eating lunch with a few of her teammates outside when she turned the phone on and checked her texts. 

The last day of her sophomore year is less than two weeks away, and her brain is already on vacation mode. 

_**You’re being weird. Is everything okay?** _She hits send and takes another bite of her chicken caprese salad. 

Thirty seconds later, her phone vibrates and the screen turns on. 

“Who’s texting you, Wheezie?” Her friend Kaitlin asks from across the table. The blonde in a high ponytail rests her chin on her hand, waiting for a response. 

“Nosey much, Kait?” The teen replies with a smirk. She reads the text from her sister’s boyfriend. “It’s just my sister’s boyfriend, John B, telling me that he’s picking me up.” 

“Ugh, John B is such a dream,” she swoons. The other girls at the table voice their agreement. “Your sister is sooo lucky. They’re like a fairytale. If only the guys here had half the charm John B has, maybe we’d all have boyfriends,” she says wistfully. 

Wheezie quietly snorts at her teammate’s complaints. “Y’all can keep dreaming all you want. He’s like my brother, he’s completely in love with Sarah, and he worships the ground she walks on,” Wheezie informs them before reading the new message.

_**Yeah, just need a second opinion on something. Sarah’s car is at the shop. Nothing bad- I promise.** _

A warning bell goes off in her mind. John B hasn’t picked her up from school since Sarah came home from college, except after home games. A vague text message from him plus no prior notice from Sarah makes her suspicious, even if he assures her that it's nothing bad. 

Another text comes through as she silently figures out how to answer. 

_**I’ll bring you a smoothie. Kiwi quencher from Tropical Smoothie right? We’re going out on the Pogue II.** _

She grins. **_Well if you’re gonna bribe me with smoothies and a boat ride… see you at 3._**

-

Wheezie is distracted for the rest of the school day. Despite her teacher’s insistence that everyone needed to pay attention to the final exam review sessions, she couldn’t bring herself to fully participate. The only thing on her mind was what John B could possibly need to talk to her about. 

The final bell rings at 2:55 and she lets out a sigh of relief. After grabbing her books from her locker and untucking her shirt from the itchy uniform skirt she’s forced to wear, she walks out the building and waits for the beaten up VW van to pull up between the pick-up line of BMWs and Porsches. 

Wheezie likes to make fun of John B for driving the old van but she secretly loves it- the worn out seats, the smell of sunscreen, salt water and weed, the open windows- she loves it all. She gets why her older sister loves spending time with him and his friends in it- it’s nothing like the Kook life they grew up with. It feels amazing. As soon as she spots (and hears) the Twinkie trudging up the hill toward the school, a grin covers her face. 

Wheezie checks the road before cutting across the parking lot and watches as the young man comes to a stop in front of her. 

“You better have my smoothie. I’ve been craving it ever since you said you’d bring me one at lunch,” she greets him. She tosses her North Face backpack into the back and flops onto the seat, looking at him expectantly. 

“Well hello to you too, you brat.” The nineteen-year-old sasses, lifting the sunglasses off his eyes and setting them on his head. “You know the rule.” He sticks his right hand out and she immediately grabs it to start their handshake. 

Ten seconds later, after a complicated charade of hand motions, Wheezie leans back in her seat as John B puts the van in drive and pulls away from the private high school. 

“Okay Routledge, time to talk. Your text earlier was sus. What’s up? And where’s my smoothie?” she demands, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Jeez, Sneezie, you’re in a bossy mood this afternoon,” he observes with a smirk. He reaches down and pulls out a travel carrier with two smoothies resting inside. 

“Your kiwi quencher, Miss Cameron.” 

She grabs the drink from his hand and takes a long sip. “Oh thank God, I’ve been thinking about this all day,” Wheezie exclaims. 

A short laugh escapes the nineteen-year-old. “You’re welcome!”

“Why should I be thanking you when you were the one who bribed me with this in the first place?” she asks sarcastically. “Now are you going to tell me what you need to talk about or did you miss me and just want to spend time with me?” 

Wheezie’s curiosity is getting the best of her, and she’s ready to interrogate her sister’s boyfriend. A vague text and a bribe of her favorite smoothie? He’s hiding something and is trying to buy her cooperation. 

John B removes the remaining drink from the container and sets it between his legs before carelessly tossing the cardboard into the back of the Twinkie. “You just cut to the chase, don’t you? You’re just like Sarah.” 

The teen shrugs. “Well you love her, so by default, I guess you have to love me and my bluntness too.” 

He shakes his head, smiling, before making a left on the winding road and pulling into an empty parking lot- the same lot that Sarah confided in her about her plans to move in with the young man two weeks earlier. 

John B turns in his seat to face her, and his eyes turn serious. 

_Oh. This isn't something to joke about._

“So a few weeks ago, I asked Sarah to move in with me… And she said yes,” he begins. 

Wheezie tucks her legs underneath her and faces him. She sets her smoothie aside and nods. “Yeah, I know. She told me the afternoon we had brunch with Dad.” 

“Oh.” He pauses and mentally back tracks. “That eliminates half of what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure Sarah told me in this parking lot, John B,” she shares with a slight shrug. The comment is a weak attempt at helping him feel a little bit better, but it seems to work. 

He chuckles. “Thanks, Wheezie. That's not the only thing I want to talk to you about, though.” 

John B nervously looks down and starts patting down his jeans in search of his phone. When he locates it, he turns the device on and looks something up. 

He looks up and nervously smiles. 

“I want to show you something,” he explains before passing his phone to her. The screen displays something that takes Wheezie aback. 

On it, she sees an Etsy listing for a ring- a 14 karat rose gold ring. Her eyes widened in shock. 

She looks up. “What- are you- is this-?” The words fall out of her mouth in stilted fragments. She looks down at the screen again and her jaw drops. 

_What is it with this parking lot and my family dropping big news on me here?_

She considers John B family at this point. He’s a better pseudo big brother than her half-brother ever was. He’s been there for her without Sarah asking him to. The few months he lived at Tannyhill while her Dad was his guardian were some of the most fun she had as a pre-teen. When he moved out and returned to his house on The Cut, she was upset. She feared she wouldn’t get to see him as much, but a few days after Kildare County Juvenile Court declared him an emancipated minor, he pulled up in his van and took her out for ice cream. It became a regular outing for them: sometimes it was ice cream, other times, they got smoothies. On one occasion, he took her out and taught her to surf. That afternoon was an epic failure, but the memory is one of her favorites from the last couple of years. He made time to hang out with her one-on-one, like he expected to be part of her life in the long run. 

The photo of the piece of jewelry is beautiful: the rose gold band features a small knot in place of a stone. It's dainty and minimalistic but effortlessly Sarah. 

_Is he planning to propose to Sarah?_

“I know what you're thinking.” John B’s voice tears her away from her thoughts. She looks up, her eyes wrinkling in confusion. 

“It’s not exactly for that purpose. I can't imagine loving or being with anyone other than Sarah, but I know we're both not ready for that yet,” John B sheepishly admits. 

“Then why-?” 

“I love Sarah. I’m happier than I ever thought was possible with her, especially after the way life kept me down for sixteen years. Even if I’m not physically with her, she makes me want to be a better man for myself and for her. In some ways, she saved me from myself.” He looks down and chuckles. “Honestly Wheezie, I might not be alive if your sister didn’t enter my shitstorm of a life when she did.” 

This news surprises the sixteen-year-old athlete, but she keeps quiet and listens. 

“She’s encouraged me to take ownership of my life and I’ve grown up a lot because of it. At the same time, I know I've done the same for her. She brings out the best in me and I am so much happier because of her. I can't picture loving any other person the way I love Sarah, and yeah, asking her to move in and help renovate my house into our house moves us one step closer to our future, but I feel like there's more I can do to make my intentions for us- for our future- clear. And this is it.”

His palms suddenly start to sweat from nerves. Wheezie’s opinion matters more to him than he initially realized. It’s not like he can ask Kie for her thoughts without her spilling the news to her best friend. The number of women in his life who he feels comfortable talking about this is limited to three people: one is the person he intends to give the ring to, and the other will tell the recipient about said ring, which leaves Wheezie as his only consultant. The “Pogues don’t keep secrets from Pogues” rule serves its purpose most of the time, but right now, it’s a small inconvenience. 

John B wipes his hands on his jeans before continuing. “So this is a promise ring for Sarah. It’s kind of an old-fashioned idea, I think, but-” 

“She’s gonna love it,” Wheezie breathes out as a wide grin spreads across her face. She meets his eyes and nods. 

Her response takes him by surprise, “R-really? Are you sure? Because-”

The teenager throws her arms around John B and squeezes tightly, cutting him off. 

The action knocks some of the air from his lungs but he quickly wraps an arm around her back and returns her hug. 

“Sarah’s gonna love it. I know she will,” she repeats into his shoulder. 

_I was worried for nothing,_ he says to himself. “Thank God. Thank you, Wheezie,” he mumbles, his arms tightening around her torso. 

Wheezie sniffles and pulls away to quickly wipe her eyes before John B could see, but he immediately notices.

“Hey, hey, hey- what’s wrong? Why are you upset, Sneezie?” 

He’s suddenly very confused and concerned. She was so excited less than thirty seconds ago but now she has tears in her eyes. 

“I’m- I’m not upset. I promise,” she states with a shaky laugh. “I’m really happy you told me about this. It’s just- being in high school, you see so many toxic and really- just, really shitty people who don't know what they want getting into these unhealthy relationships, but when I look at you and Sarah, I see the exact opposite of that. She wasn’t happy with Topper all those years ago; that definitely wasn’t healthy. But you and her- what you have gives me so much hope for the future.”

John B leans back in his seat and considers her statement. “Like what?”

She bites her lip and mentally debates if she wants to speak her mind. Screw it. “This sounds kind of selfish, but it means you want to be part of our royally screwed up, dysfunctional family. You want to be my big brother. Even if you weren’t thinking about this now, I’d still think of you as my brother. I’ve always been the black sheep in this family but you never saw me that way.”

The curly haired young man takes in her confession while taking a long sip of his smoothie. He nods. “Ya know, Sarah said something similar a few days ago.” He sets the drink in the cup holder and holds a finger up before reaching out the window and opening his door. 

He circles around the front of the van and pulls her door open. “C’mere,” he tells her, arms open and a boyish grin across his face. 

Wheezie jumps out of her seat and quickly throws her arms tightly around his torso, pushing her face into his chest. He returns the gesture, wrapping her in a warm embrace. 

“I think of you as the younger sister I never got to have. Sure, you’re a know-it-all and kind of a brat and a snitch sometimes, but you’re family,” he mumbles into the top of her head. “I love ya, Sneezie.”

She ignores the nickname and joking insults and smiles. “I love ya too, John B.”

 _Now I know what Sarah means when she talks about John B’s hugs being the best,_ she thinks. 

The teenager feels a kind of love that only a sibling can provide. Rafe’s never been one for showing affection and while Sarah's always cared about her, there's something inherently different about the love she feels from her older sister’s boyfriend’s hugs. She feels protected, like there’s someone always looking out for her, someone who cares about her interests. John B is the type of person who would drop everything to make sure his family and friends are okay. He has quickly become part of her family, even if it's not in the legal sense, yet. 

She relaxes her arms and looks up to meet his eyes. “Thank you, John B. For being here for me, for loving Sarah, for telling me about the ring and letting me be part of this. I promise she’ll love it. It’s beautiful and simple but that’s what she likes. And since it’s coming from you, she’ll love it that much more.” 

The teenage girl’s assurance fills his chest with an overwhelming sense of love and hope. 

“Then that’s the one I’ll order. Hey- you can’t say anything to Sarah about this, okay? It needs to be a surprise.”

Wheezie mimics zipping her lips and tossing the key. “My lips are sealed. No snitching, ” she says with a bright grin. “Are you going to give it to her soon?”

He nods and shoves his hands into pockets. “Yeah, I’ll order it tonight. I think the website said it’ll ship within a week. When it gets here, you’ll be the only person to know and the first person to see it.” 

“You promise?” She raises an expectant eyebrow. 

“I promise, Wheezie. You have my word.” He nudges her back towards the van. “Now let's get out of here. Sarah's gonna meet us at the marina after her car gets inspected. You ready for an afternoon on the Marsh?”

“Will it help me procrastinate completing my study guides for finals?”

John B gives her a serious nod yet his eyes deceive him. He knows what he’s doing and he’s happy to provide a distraction from homework for a couple hours. 

“Then yes, I'm definitely ready for an afternoon on the Pogue II.”

\---

A week later, Wheezie is walking out the school building with a teammate after finishing her last exam of the day when she receives a text from John B: 

_**Package came yesterday. She’s not here. Can you FaceTime?** _

Her eyes nearly bulge out of the socket from excitement. 

“Hey, Kait, I’ll meet you at your car in a few minutes. I just need to call someone really quick,” she calls over her shoulder. She frantically digs through her backpack for her AirPods and puts them in her ear before typing her response. 

_**One sec! Just got out of finals!** _

Her ride nods and walks toward the upperclassmen parking lot, leaving her under a tree in the teacher’s parking lot as she calls him. 

“Pick up, John B!” She mumbles while her phone dials him on the other side of the island. 

As soon as the video connects and she sees the goofy grin on the nineteen year old’s face, she starts bouncing on her toes. 

“Show me! Please show me,” she begs, shifting her weight from one foot to the other in an effort to contain her excitement. 

Her sister’s boyfriend picks up the phone and walks around the Chateau, shaking his head. Pushing the hair out of his eyes, he grins. “Jeez, Wheezie. I can’t even get a hey from you first? How was your final?” 

“Cut the small talk, dude. I don’t have much time. My ride is waiting but I want to see the ring! You promised me!” 

John B grabs his backpack from the bedroom and steps outside to get away from the cabinet stain fumes. 

“Hold on, I was staining the cabinets one more time. I’m trying not to die from the fumes before I open this,” he jokes while propping the phone up on a table. 

“You mean you haven’t even looked at it yet?” 

He shakes his head and pulls the white mailer from his backpack. “No, I told you I’d show you when it arrived. Sarah was here last night when it was delivered so I couldn’t open it then,” he tells her as he rips the package open. A drawstring bag with the store name embossed on it falls out and lands on his lap. 

Wheezie rolls her eyes. She’s not surprised that he waited to show her, but she feels her excitement grow the longer he takes to open the package. 

He picks the bag up and shows her through the camera. “Here it is,” he says. Suddenly, he feels nervous. _This is not an engagement ring_ , he reminds himself. 

“Are you waiting for a drumroll? Hate to break it to ya, John B, but I’m standing outside and I really can’t give that to you at the moment.”

“You’re a brat.” 

The teenage girl scoffs at the insult. “But you still love me. Now open it up so I can see. You’re killing me, here!” 

John B gingerly opens the drawstring bag and pulls out a small box. He sets the bag off to the side and lifts the top. Nestled inside the padded flocked cushion is the promise ring- a rose gold band with the dainty knot in the center. 

“Damn,” he whispers as his eyes travel over the fourteen karat gold. He removes the piece of jewelry from the cushioning and holds it up to the light, inspecting it under the midday sun. 

Wheezie watches quietly as a smile slowly spreads across her pseudo big brother’s face. 

“Sneezie, it’s perfect.” He picks up the phone and flips the camera to show her the piece up close. “It’s perfect for Sarah,” he mutters while holding it up to the light. 

“I knew you picked good, John B. You just needed my feminine and sisterly expertise to make sure it was right for her,” she teases. _You didn’t need my help though. You know Sarah better than anyone._

From a distance, she hears Kaitlin call her name. “Oh, I gotta go. My ride is waiting. Thanks for Facetiming me to show me the ring! I promise Sarah’s gonna love it, whenever you give it to her. Love ya, John B!” She ends the call and pulls out the Airpod case from her school skirt pocket and places them back inside. 

As she walks down the hill to the upperclassmen parking lot towards her teammate’s car, she grins. 

_Sarah’s gonna be so surprised, I just know it._


	3. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jarah B's first Valentine's Day as college students. Takes place a few months before the house won't fall (when the bones are good).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by an Instagram advertisement I saw from Uncommon Goods at the end of January. It's very cute and appropriate for the holiday of love. Enjoy! :)

Sarah doesn’t usually think too much about the distance between her and John B while she’s at school. 

Except for today: Valentine’s Day. 

Like most other couples, they always spent part of the day together. It was easy in high school when they lived within fifteen minutes of each other. Now she’s attending a college out of state that's a little over two hours away with no time to spend the day with him. This year, the holiday of love fell on a Thursday, which happens to be her busiest day of classes this semester. 

When she woke up this morning, she was met with a good morning text that she immediately responded to. Less than thirty seconds after sending her response, she got a Facetime request from John B. 

Before she answered, she glanced over at the lofted bed across the room to check that her roommate was gone. 

“Hi,” she greeted with a sleepy smile as she let her head sink back into the pillow. 

“Hey. Did I wake you up?”

Sarah shakes her head and yawns. “No, I just woke up. I haven’t moved yet but I have class in an hour.” 

“I’m on my way to class too but I wanted to say happy Valentine’s day and I love you since I can’t do it in person.” 

The dirty blonde rolls to lay on her side and blushes. John B expresses his love in the simplest ways and it always makes her heart flutter. A video call where he can say what’s on his mind is more genuine to him than a text message. 

“Happy Valentine’s day, babe. You make me and my heart really happy,” she says softly. Her eyes take in the growing scruff on his jaw as he pulls on a fleece jacket and his backpack to leave the Chateau. “I wish we could spend the day together like we always do. But you know what they say: distance makes the heart grow fonder, so I’m excited to come home for break in March and spend lots of time with you.” 

“Yeah, I wish we could see each other too, Sarah. But I know you won’t skip class to come home early for a weekend and you won’t let me do the same either,” he says knowingly. 

“You’re right. Don’t skip class because you’re paying to take them!” 

John B chuckles as he moves through the Chateau and out the door into the mid-winter cold. “I know, I know. I’m not skipping class, I promise.” A small smile crosses his face while he pulls the front door shut and locks it. “Hey, check your mail today. Something should be arriving,” he says mysteriously. 

“John Booker!” she chastises. “We never do big gifts, especially on Valentine’s day. You know that,” she reminds him, although a cloud of butterflies erupts in her chest from excitement. 

“Well, this year is a little different with you at school so I wanted to mail something to you. I don’t want anything, I just want you to have it, okay?” 

“Okay…” she sighs with a teasing smile. “I’ll let you know when I open it if I get a notice from the post office to pick it up today.” 

Her boyfriend smiles at the camera. “Well, I’ll let you get ready. What time are you done?”

“3:45. I have lab this afternoon but we usually finish around 3:15ish.” She sits up so her legs dangle off the edge of the mattress before landing on her feet. 

She watches his eyes scrunch together in thought and nods. 

“Got it. I love you, Sarah. We'll talk later.”

“Love you too, John B. Have a good class!” She blows him a kiss before hanging up. 

That was at 8 am. After changing, packing her backpack for the day, and pulling on her winter coat, she trudged across campus in the cold to the dining hall to grab a quick breakfast. Her first class of the morning, French, flew by, despite the longer class period. 

Unfortunately, every class after her language class seemed to drag on forever. The buildings feel colder than usual, and the dining hall staff in a less cheery mood. It didn’t help that it’s cloudy outside, making the day even gloomier. 

By the time she’s cleaning up her chemistry lab experiment at 3:30, she’s exhausted and disappointed that no package notification has appeared in her school email. The lab was very detailed and required specific clean-up instructions so she didn’t get to leave as early as she originally hoped. 

Sarah pushes the door to the science building open and waves goodbye to her lab partner, Isabel, when something out of the ordinary catches her eye off to the side. 

“No,” she mutters under her breath despite the smile stretching across her face. “He did not.”

Sitting stretched out on a park bench beside the building is John Booker Routledge, wearing a beanie and the fleece jacket from this morning. He holds a bouquet of flowers in his left hand; he flashes a wide grin at her, making her heart beat faster while her stomach flips from excitement. 

“I thought you said you’d get out of class early, Val. I’ve been sitting out here freezing my ass off for almost thirty minutes now!” He jokingly complains as he stands and approaches her. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you had-” 

John B cuts her off with a sweet kiss, wrapping the arm not holding the flowers tightly around her shoulders. “It’s not skipping if class was already canceled tomorrow, right?” 

Sarah pulls half an inch away and opens her sparkling eyes, shaking her head fervently. “No, it’s definitely not!” She meets his lips to kiss him again deeply before pulling away, remembering that they are in public. She grabs his hand and tugs him down the pathway toward her dorm to get them out of the cold. 

The wind whips through her hair and nips at her ears but she is so happy to see John B that she doesn’t mind the cold. 

“Wait” she pauses their walk. “I’m not getting anything in the mail from you, am I? Was the surprise you coming for a visit?!” 

“Mhm,” he nods with a smirk. “I do have something else for you besides the flowers though.” 

They walk through the campus hand in hand until they reach the entrance to Sarah’s dorm. Once inside the elevator to take them to the third floor, John B pulls her into his side and sighs, pressing a warm kiss to her head. “Missed you, Val,” he mutters into her windswept hair. 

“I missed you too, Vlad,” she replies with a small smile before the doors open. “C’mon, let me drop my stuff off and I’ll be all yours.” 

Sarah’s dorm room is empty when they walk in. 

“Hmm, I wonder where Sammie is,” the dirty blonde wonders aloud as she tosses the keyring onto her desk and drops her backpack onto the chair. Sammie Chastain, her roommate, is an overachieving student-athlete. If she’s not studying in their room, she’s either in the student center for tutoring or at the gym. 

John B lays the flower bouquet on the desk, tears off his jacket, and flops onto the bed with his arms open. “Come ‘ere, I want to cuddle before I give you your gift or Sammie gets back and gags at the sight of us,” he jokes. 

Sarah doesn’t think twice before pulling the boots off her feet and unzipping her coat. She climbs onto the twin extra long bed and into his arms, pressing her nose into his collarbone. 

“Jeez, Sarah!” His body jerks when her cold face touches him, causing the girl in his arms to laugh loudly. 

“You should’ve known that was coming. It’s cold out, and you’re warm. It's like a moth to a flame.” 

“You’re hardly a moth,” he grumbles under his breath. “If anything, I’m the moth and you’re the flame in this relationship.” 

Sarah’s arms tighten around him when she hears the warm affection in his comment but she doesn't respond. 

They lay curled up together for several minutes, basking in the quiet and the presence of each other. They don’t need anything else but each other at the moment. 

“Sarah?” 

“Hmm?” She opens her eyes and glances up at John B. 

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, John B.” She leans up to kiss him, soft and slow, telling him how much his surprise visit means to her without any words.

They break apart and smile, love shining in their eyes. He sits up against her pillows and reaches around to grab his jacket from the foot of the bed. It prompts her to sit up beside him although she's not sure what he is doing. 

“I know we don’t usually do gifts, but this year is different so I wanted to do something different to celebrate.” He pulls out a wrapped box from the pocket and gives it to her. The boyish smile he flashes gives way to a reddish tinge of color on his cheeks, whether it be from the warmth of the building or from feeling bashful about the present. 

Sarah looks between the wrapped package in her hand and John B. She then leans over and plants a kiss to his cheek and another at the corner of his mouth. “Thank you, babe. You didn’t need to get me this, but thank you.” 

John B chuckles. Her gratitude and sincerity warms his chest and confirms that the surprise trip was more than worth the terrible gas mileage, the lack of heat in the Twinkie, and the time sitting outside waiting for her class to end. 

She turns her attention to the gift, rips the paper off, and tosses it aside. A brown box with a pixelated heart printed on each side sits in her hands. She lifts it to eye level and inspects it. 

“What-?” She lifts an eyebrow, confused by the packaging. 

“Open it. Then I’ll explain.” 

The dirty blonde nods and scoots a little bit closer to her boyfriend. John B’s hand curls around her waist and squeezes it softly. He watches her open the present over her shoulder. 

Inside rests a few small pieces of paper that cover another object. The top one reads _Someone loves you!_ in big curly letters; underneath are a set of instructions: “How to connect and receive messages on the Lovebox”. 

“The Lovebox?” Confusion is etched on her features. She’s never heard of the product but she’s curious to hear more. 

The young man nods, taking the device out from the box to show her. “Yeah, I saw it somewhere online. It’s a digital note messenger. Every time the heart spins, it means you have a message. We aren’t always able to talk every day and you know how I feel about texting for a long time when we could be talking to each other while we’re apart, so this felt like a good way to communicate on our busier days..” He pushes the red pixelated heart, similar to the one printed on the box, around with a finger. “So it's kinda like a love letter without actually sending one in the mail.”

Sarah giggles softly and blushes. She tucks her head against his collarbone and kisses the underside of his jaw, sighing happily. This boy, who loves her so much, is so thoughtful and in tune with his and her feelings. For someone who lacked a big family growing up and lost his dad at fifteen years old, John B isn't afraid to show how much he loves others, including her. 

The geographical distance between them once she left for college was a challenging adjustment, especially as two people whose primary love language is physical touch, but it's made their relationship stronger. Communication is key and both have gotten better at expressing what's on their mind when body language is hard to read through a screen or text.

“I love it. Secretly, I’ve always wanted to get a love letter, so you're making that wish come true,” she confesses. 

John B beams. “Good. I'll remind you just how much I love you every day for the rest of my life if I have to,” he promises. He kisses the top of her head. “Do you have something we can put the flowers in so they don’t die?” 

Just as she opens her mouth to answer, the door opens and Sammie trudges in, looking wind-swept and tired. The couple sits up a little bit straighter but doesn’t move apart. 

“Oh. Hey Sarah, John B. I didn’t know you were coming,” the roommate greets with a kind smile. “I’m assuming you’re spending the night?” 

He shakes his head. “Nah, this was a surprise visit so I got a room at a hotel across the street through Saturday. No need to share the bathroom with one more person tonight.” 

This is new information to Sarah. It didn't hit her until just now that his canceled class tomorrow meant he wasn't in any rush to return to the Outer Banks- which means more time together. 

As John B and her roommate chat for a few minutes, she starts making a mental list of the things she needs to throw in her bag for the night. _Clothes for tomorrow, pjs, toothbrush, laptop charger, English notes, and novel…_ If he was spending a few nights in Newport News, she was getting off campus and going with him.

Once the other girl leaves for the study room down the hall, she slides off the bed and grabs the Lovebox. “Let’s get this set up. I don’t have much homework tonight, just reading for a class discussion tomorrow, so we can get takeout and go back to the hotel to eat. I can read while you're showering. Are you hungry?” 

John B raises his eyebrow. “I don’t remember saying you could spend the night or offering to take you to dinner, Sarah. If you want to take me out, just say so,” he teases with a wink, leaning back against her pillows. He tucks both hands under his head and grins. “But yes, I am kinda hungry. What are you in the mood for?” 

She rolls her eyes to hide her laugh before pausing to think.“There’s no way we can get a reservation someplace on Valentine’s Day. Chinese?” 

“Works for me.” He watches as she moves around the room, pulling out clothes for tomorrow out of her dresser and picking up a Mason jar from Sammie’s bookshelf to set the flowers in. She’s happier and more relaxed now, he notices, than she looked when she first walked out of the science building forty-five minutes earlier. 

He’s so proud to see her in her element at school, in person and from a distance. It's not home, but he can see why Sarah loves CNU so much. The atmosphere challenges her and it's different from UNC, where Ward desperately wanted her to attend. It's a good size, with a tight-knit community that encourages her to think about the world a little differently. His Kook Princess broke from her Figure Eight upbringing (again) and set sail on her own path. The waters led to the peninsula side of Hampton Roads, Virginia, and straight onto the campus of Christopher Newport University. 

“Here, let me get it set up for you. You put your stuff away from today and get what you need for tonight and tomorrow.” His offer is motivated, not only by wanting to help his girlfriend but by his own curiosity and desire to send and see her open the first message in person. 

He rolls off the bedding and stops in front of her, taking the device from her hand and placing it off to the side. Sarah stops in her tracks and gazes up at him, joy radiating from her brown eyes. 

“I'm really happy you're here,” she says quietly. She takes half a step closer to take his hand and lace their fingers together. “It didn’t really feel like Valentine’s Day until I saw you.” 

“I'm really happy I'm here too. Happy Valentine’s Day. I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

Sarah doesn’t think too much about the physical distance between them while he’s home and she’s at school. There’s a reason for that: every time they’re reunited, whether it be during an extended break or a weekend trip, everything falls right back into place, like they were never separated.

Just as she zips up her bag for the night, she notices the heart on the now set-up Lovebox spinning on her makeshift stacking drawers/nightstand. 

“What’s it doing?” She asks John B as she circles around the bed to look closer. 

He glances up at the ceiling and shrugs while pulling his jacket on. Even as he whistles a random tune to avoid her gaze, she can see the sneaky smile growing across his face. 

Sarah lifts the top off the device and gasps when she reads the message displayed on the screen. 

_Val- Best to keep it professional. More instructions from HQ to come. Love from the motherland- Vlad_

A wide grin covers her face as she closes the top and turns to face the only person who could have sent that message. She shakes her head and rounds the bed to grab his jacket collar, pulling him down for a long, sweet kiss. 

“You’re my favorite, John B,” she says against his lips. “Thanks for giving me my first love letter.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Jarah B's love. They are so cute. 
> 
> Hope you loved this oneshot! Here's the Lovebox that John B got for Sarah: https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/lovebox-spinning-heart-messenger 
> 
> As always, please leave a kudos or comment below, or drop something in my ask on Tumblr: alexandracheers.tumblr.com. 
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think by stopping by my ask box on my Tumblr, alexandracheers.tumblr.com!
> 
> Thanks for reading, friend!


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